Captain Rassie van der Dussen says he’s excited to see what South Africa’s four T20I debutants can do in a Tri-Series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Harare.
South Africa open their campaign against Zimbabwe at 1pm on Monday.
Van der Dussen will lead the Proteas in the absence of Aiden Markram, who is being rested along with several senior players including Kagiso Rabada, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton.
The selectors have handed maiden call-ups to Corbin Bosch and Lhuan-dré Pretorius (Northerns Titans), Rubin Hermann (North West Dragons) and spinner Senuran Muthusamy (EP Warriors).
“We have four debutants in the team who have really kicked the door down with strong performances over the past 12 to 18 months,” said Van der Dussen during a virtual press conference from Harare. “It’s going to be exciting to see what they can do.”
Van der Dussen was full of praise for 19-year-old Pretorius, who recently scored a 153 on his Test debut.
“He’s a wonderful young man with a good cricket brain. He’s got natural power, talent and flair, and he adapts really quickly to different formats.”
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Monday’s match will be Test coach Shukri Conrad’s first in charge of the Proteas white-ball side, having replaced Rob Walter in the role.
“It’s refreshing to work with Shukri,” said Van der Dussen. “He’s someone who’s very straightforward and to the point. The players appreciate that and everyone knows where they stand.
“The guys who played Test cricket under him speak highly of him. We’ve experienced over the last few days how relaxed he is with the team and the support team.
“He said the other day that he himself is a bit nervous because it’s his first T20 match as a coach. Hopefully we can help him with a good performance.”
Proteas T20 squad: Rassie van der Dussen (c, Lions), Corbin Bosch (Titans), Dewald Brevis (Titans), Nandre Burger (WP), Gerald Coetzee (Titans), Reeza Hendricks (Lions), Rubin Hermann (Dragons), George Linde (WP), Kwena Maphaka (Lions), Senuran Muthusamy (Warriors), Lungi Ngidi (Titans), Nqaba Peter (Lions), Lhuan-dré Pretorius (Titans), Andile Simelane (Dolphins).
T20I Tri-Series fixtures (all matches at Harare Sports Club, 1pm)
Monday, 14 July – Zimbabwe vs South Africa,
Wednesday, 16 July – South Africa vs New Zealand
Friday, 18 July – Zimbabwe vs New Zealand
Sunday, 20 July – Zimbabwe vs South Africa
Tuesday, 22 July – New Zealand vs South Africa
Thursday, 24 July – Zimbabwe vs New Zealand
Saturday, 26 July – Final
Photo: @ProteasMenCSA/X
